News

Memo to Geithner: The U.S. is one of those major developed economies with substantial oil reserves. Oh, and don’t forget to pay your taxes this year. Bloomberg (3/8/11) reports: Major oil producers and consumers are well-placed to respond to any shortfall in supplies resulting from the crisis in Libya, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stressed Tuesday…Oil prices have spiked higher recently as a result of the Libyan uprising and fears of unrest elsewhere in the region. They retreated somewhat on Tuesday as OPEC ministers discussed whether to ramp up production but remain near 30-month highs…”It’s important to recognize that the major producers of oil and the major developed economies do have substantial reserves, resources available that they could mobilize if necessary to respond to any supply disruption,” Geithner said after talks with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble…He added that “even in the face of these uncertainties,” there are “encouraging signs of gradually strengthening recovery” across major global economies.

The writing is on the smoke stacks — China is buying and developing affordable and reliable energy and exporting the stuff that doesn’t work very well to the West. Wall Street Journal (3/9/11) reports: Two clean-energy businesses—Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy Co. and the solar-glass unit of Xinyi Glass Holding Ltd. —plan to raise a total of roughly US$1.1 billion from Hong Kong initial public offerings this year, highlighting the rapid growth of demand for renewable energy in China…Chinese property developer Top Spring International Holdings Ltd. also plans to raise as much as US$260 million in initial public offering ahead of its listing in Hong Kong on March 23, according to a term sheet seen by Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday…The first Chinese clean-energy company aiming to list in Hong Kong since China Datang Corp. Renewable Power Co’s US$682 million IPO in December, state-owned Beijing Jingneng plans to raise about US$500 million in an IPO in the second quarter, people familiar with the situation said Wednesday….As at the end of December, Beijing Jingneng, a clean-energy unit of the Beijing municipal government, had a total installed capacity of 1.19 gigawatt of gas-fired power. It accounted for 70% of Beijing’s total gas-fired power capacity, according to the website of its parent, Beijing Energy Investment Holdings Co.

Big Sun, meet King Corn. Having mastered the art of funneling massive federal subsidies for ethanol, Iowa wants in on the solar racket, too. Des Moines Register (3/9/11) reports: A solar-powered tent was pitched on the state Capitol grounds on a cloudy Tuesday as part of an effort to get lawmakers thinking about creating a solar energy policy for Iowa…An added enticement was a new report showing that solar energy could create nearly 5,000 jobs if Iowa adds 300 megawatts of solar power during the next five years…That may sound like a lot of energy, but it’s only 8 percent of the 3,675 megawatts that wind power already produces in Iowa…Iowa needs a solar energy goal, said David Osterberg of the Iowa Policy Project. The Iowa City think tank was a co-sponsor of solar activities at the Capitol. The event included an appearance by former University of Iowa and NFL star Tim Dwight, who is now a co-owner of a California solar development company.

Meet Ed Markey. A man who never met an energy project he didn’t hold up. This time he is confused that a proposed nuclear plan will actually produce power. New York Times (3/9/11) reports: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving toward approval of the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor and its strikingly different containment design, which has far fewer pumps and valves plus a safety system that relies mostly on foolproof forces, like water flowing downhill or heat rising. But complaints over the design persist…In a notice on Feb. 24 in the Federal Register, the commission invited public comment on its intention to approve the design; the comment period runs until May 10…The notice quickly drew comment from Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts. In a letter sent on Tuesday to the chairman of the regulatory commission, Gregory Jaczko, Mr. Markey asked that the commission hold off until it has resolved a dispute with one of its staff members, John S. Ma, a senior structural engineer, over whether a shield building in the new design could withstand an earthquake or the impact of an airplane crash…“Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on reactors that could be at risk of suffering a catastrophic core meltdown in the event of an aircraft strike or a major earthquake,’’ Mr. Markey wrote.

Coincidence? Tesla has a showroom in downtown DC. Washington takes your tax dollars and hands rich greenies a tax break on Tesla’s $58,000 sedan. CNN (3/8/11) reports:  Tesla Motors, best known for the plug-in electric Tesla Roadster, plans to begin delivering its new Model S sedan around the middle of next year, the automaker announced Monday…Prices for the plug-in electric Model S sedan will start at $57,400 but the vehicle will be eligible for a $7,500 tax credit. The base model will have a driving range of 160 miles, Tesla said, but buyers will be able to pay more for versions with larger battery packs and longer driving ranges… In fact, the first 1,000 cars off Tesla production line — housed in a California factory that had produced cars for General Motors and Toyota — will be the Model S Signature Series, a version capable of driving 300 miles on a charge…These cars are expected to cost about $20,000 more than the base model, Tesla said on its website. For $10,000 over the base price, customers will be offered a car with a 230 mile driving range…Tesla expects to produce only 5,000 of the cars in 2012 but hopes to expand production capacity to 20,000 cars by 2013.

Wanna bet the Queen won’t have to change her own behaviour? Financial Post (3/5/11) reports: Electricity consumers in the UK will need to get used to flicking the switch and finding the power unavailable, according to Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid, the country’s grid operator. Because of a six-fold increase in wind generation, which won’t be available when the wind doesn’t blow, “The grid is going to be a very different system in 2020, 2030,” he told BBC’s Radio 4. “We keep thinking that we want it to be there and provide power when we need it. It’s going to be much smarter than that…“We are going to change our own behaviour and consume it when it is available and available cheaply.”…Holliday has for several years been predicting that blackouts could become a feature of power systems that replace reliable coal plants with wind turbines in order to meet greenhouse gas targets. Wind-based power systems are necessary to meet the government’s targets, he has explained, but they will require lifestyle changes.

The Obama Administration’s national energy policy has been a natural disaster that qualifies for tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  Or maybe we can just drill for oil in the Gulf, Alaska, Virginia, California…starting to get the picture? The Hill (3/8/11) reports: A member of the House GOP leadership is attacking the White House over its consideration of releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.“As the price of gas continues to rise, the White House is considering a short-term response and ignoring the implications of its failed energy policies,” said Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee…“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to offer relief should there be a temporary disruption in the supply of crude oil, like a devastating hurricane or a blockade of oil imports.  It was not intended to be a tool to manipulate the market or provide political relief,” he added in a statement…Bill Daley, President Obama’s chief of staff, said Sunday that the president is considering tapping the reserve. But the White House emphasized Monday that rising oil costs will not be the “sole factor” in whether the administration taps the 727-million barrel stockpile.

One crop to rule them all — which GOP candidate will do the right thing and stand up to King Corn? The Hill (3/7/11) reports: Corn is king in Iowa, but ethanol is a close second, and Republicans seeking to unseat President Obama must balance conservative demands to slash subsidies with the popularity of price supports in Iowa… Support for ethanol subsidies has long been seen as a requirement to winning support in Iowa. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), for example, shifted from opposing the subsidies in 2000 to supporting them by 2008, but still ended up losing to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), partly because of his past opposition to farm subsidies… The GOP presidential field faces a huge challenge in handling ethanol subsidies in the Tea Party era ahead of Iowa’s first-in-the-nation 2012 caucuses.

Dominoes: At what point is our government going to realize we don’t need to depend on dictators for our energy supplies? Wall Street Journal (3/8/11) reports: Big oil companies and Wall Street banks have stopped trading crude with Libya in response to sanctions against the country, threatening a near-shutdown of exports from the North African country and driving oil prices even higher… Morgan Stanley, which buys Libyan oil for its clients, has stopped buying because of sanctions announced last month, according to a person familiar with the matter. ConocoPhillips Co. said it isn’t exporting any of the 46,000 barrels a day of oil it normally produces in Libya. Exxon Mobil Corp. also said it is complying with the sanctions against Libya. A person familiar with BP PLC said the company wasn’t currently doing any new trading deals in Libya… These moves are putting further strains on an already-volatile oil market, threatening to send gasoline prices higher around the world. Oil is already trading at its highest level in 2½ years as antigovernment protests sweep further across the Middle East, and worries increase that disruptions could spread from Libya to bigger producers like Saudi Arabia and Iran. Crude futures rose $1.02 per barrel, or 1%, to $105.44 at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

Two thousand words on miracles of geothermal and this was said in passing: ‘The monthly electric will bill go up, of course’.  At least the cat has fur, but we’ll need a snuggie to keep warm. New York Times (3/7/11) reports: Five years ago, my husband and I walked out of what was left of our historic house after a propane explosion. As the house caught fire, the cat jumped out to safety, too. When we rebuilt, we wanted to avoid burning fossil fuels in our new home, and I remembered reading an article about an architect who drilled geothermal wells to heat and cool his Lower Manhattan town house… Many people think geothermal energy means tapping the power of geyserlike hot springs from miles underground to turn turbines and generate electricity. They may also associate it with minor earthquakes like those that halted major geothermal deep-drilling projects in northern California and in Switzerland late in 2009… “Cost savings are specific to the area of the country, and depend on whether you are competing with natural gas or propane or electric resistance,” said Gordon Bloomquist, a retired senior scientist at Washington State University, who has studied, designed and done troubleshooting on hundreds of geothermal projects.

Chu has a moment of zen — energy created at home is wealth creation — but it lasted as long as a Volt battery charge Scientific American (3/7/11) reports: “You might ask, what will the price of oil be? And the answer is, we don’t know.”…That’s Steven Chu musing on oil at the second annual summit of ARPA-e in Washington, D.C. on March 1. Chu, for one, hopes we don’t hit the snooze button again. “Our national security is very dependent on our energy security. So, and I want to stress this, energy we create at home is wealth creation at home.”… Chu is a man who knows a lot, Nobel laureate in physics, our nation’s 12th secretary of energy. But given the world’s increasing thirst for oil—and the demand for energy more generally—guessing black gold’s future price is a speculator’s game

No Mr. President, be careful what you wish for — green dreams can lead to gas nightmares The Hill (3/5/11) reports: The Obama administration delivered a warning late Friday to a federal judge who’s demanding Interior Department action on deepwater drilling permit applications: Be careful what you wish for… Interior appealed the orders late Friday and asked for a stay…In their filing, Justice Department lawyers say that Judge Martin Feldman’s orders could thwart the “efficient development of oil and gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, as well as potentially harm the near-term interests of the operators who submitted the subject applications.”…The Interior Department challenged a Louisiana judge’s orders that require decisions on several industry applications later this month, warning that the court’s mandate could force Interior to “deny the applications outright” and divert resources from review of other permit requests.

IER’s Dan Kish talks gas prices in light of the Obama Administration’s war on affordable and reliable energy Wall Street Journal (3/4/11) reports: Onshore? Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has revoked oil-and-gas leases. The EPA is suffocating the coal industry with regulation. One of the president’s only clear State of the Union proposals was to raise taxes on oil and gas. The White House’s energy policy, says Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research, is “embargoing our own energy supplies to drive up their costs…”The Obama administration has its share of headaches: a possible government shutdown, Arab unrest, the union uprising. The real migraine may be a firestorm over gasoline prices…Oil last week topped $100 a barrel, and gas has hit $4 a gallon in pockets of the country. The price is expected to keep heading up. This pain is being felt by a public still dazed by recession.

Who says green energy doesn’t create jobs? Larry Eisenberg wasted $10 million on blueprints for renewables, but don’t worry he has $5.7 billion more in tax payer money to ‘invest’ Los Angeles Times (3/6/11) reports: As head of a $5.7-billion, taxpayer-funded program to rebuild the college campuses, Eisenberg commanded attention. But his plan for energy independence was seriously flawed…He overestimated how much power the colleges could generate. He underestimated the cost. And he poured millions of dollars into designs for projects that proved so impractical or unpopular they were never built…These and other blunders cost nearly $10 million that could have paid for new classrooms, laboratories and other college facilities, a Times investigation found…The problems with Eisenberg’s energy vision were fundamental. For starters, there simply wasn’t room on the campuses for all the generating equipment required to become self-sufficient. Some of the colleges wouldn’t come close to that goal even if solar panels, wind turbines and other devices were wedged into every available space.

George Will warns of the gravy train — it’s all about central planning and control over the individual Wall Street Journal (3/5/11) reports: Generations hence, when the river of time has worn this presidency’s importance to a small, smooth pebble in the stream of history, people will still marvel that its defining trait was a mania for high-speed rail projects. This disorder illuminates the progressive mind…Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail for many reasons—to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism…To progressives, the best thing about railroads is that people riding them are not in automobiles, which are subversive of the deference on which progressivism depends. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make…Time was, the progressive cry was “Workers of the world unite!” or “Power to the people!” Now it is less resonant: “All aboard!”

IER’s Dan Kish explains the connection between Alaska and Libya — turns out size does matter Human Events (3/3/11) reports: As Americans watch the price of gasoline skyrocket and average families wonder how they’re going to make it to the end of the month, we are reminded that because of our short-sighted energy policies, what happens in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East affects the very economic strength of the United States.  We could do much to reduce the effect of foreign entanglements on family budgets and the price of everything from food to clothing to government itself, but the government deliberately and publicly stands in the way of reducing our dependency.  As Ronald Reagan said, “Government is not the solution to our problem, it is the problem.”…The revolt in Libya has raised serious questions about Libya’s ability to export about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day to the world.  Meanwhile, the largest pipeline in America—the trans-Alaska pipeline system or TAPS—is currently using less than one-third of its original capacity, meaning that if our government would allow it, Alaska could send 1.4 million barrels more per day to consumers in the U.S.  Alaska is hugely rich in energy resources, but unfortunately the government owns most of the land and all of the offshore waters, and it won’t permit development of new resources.

Don’t worry, there’s always oil in the reserve and also onshore, offshore, and the 97 percent of federal lands we can’t explore Fuel Fix (3/3/11) reports: U.S. oil prices closed above $100 a barrel Wednesday for the first time in more than two years, and might be higher still if the giant storage tanks in this small prairie town northeast of Oklahoma City weren’t so full…Here, at the nation’s main hub for oil storage and distribution, bulging stockpiles of crude are acting as a partial buffer to Middle East turmoil that’s driven international oil prices much higher…At the moment, about 11 percent of the nation’s oil inventory is parked in Cushing, nearly double where it stood a few years ago…However, all that oil hasn’t shielded Americans from paying higher gasoline prices, for several reasons. While the price of the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude at Cushing hasn’t soared as high as comparable oil elsewhere, it’s still well above its price just a few weeks ago, and the price of crude is the main component of prices at the pump…Whatever its price, the oil at Cushing represents just a small fraction of the nation’s total demand, and crude stored in the town doesn’t have an easy path to all the refineries that might otherwise welcome its lower cost.

Is there room for one more on those coattails? Republicans grab hold of rising gas prices to attack the Obama Administration Los Angeles Times (3/3/11) reports: As Republicans continue to cast about for ways to weaken President Obama in advance of next year’s elections, it appears they believe they have found one solid line of attack: rising gas prices…The average cost of a gallon of gas has been rising over the $3 mark all year, hitting $3.39 this week. On Wednesday, the price for a gallon of crude oil surpassed $100 a barrel on the world markets. Unrest in the Middle East, particularly in the oil-rich state of Libya, as well as rising international demand, has many analysts believing gas in the U.S. could hit $4 a gallon by summer…If that occurs, it may prove to be another test for Obama’s presidency. Earlier this week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, testifying before Congress, called rising prices “a threat” to the economy’s recovery, although he suggested that the result would be a modest increase in consumer prices, not rampant inflation…But President George W. Bush faced a similar spike in 2008, part of an economic downturn that helped erode whatever remaining popular support he enjoyed as his second term wound down. And, of course, an energy crisis, along with long lines at gas pumps, became synonymous with the final years of Jimmy Carter’s presidency.

I suppose lawyers are green jobs — they are making a lot of money off of CA cap and tax program Wall Street Journal (3/2/11) reports: California’s cap-and-trade program is being threatened by groups of local residents, even after the ambitious climate plan survived an electoral challenge in November…Communities For A Better Environment, California Communities Against Toxics, Society For Positive Action and other groups and individuals have sued state regulators, claiming the climate plan won’t reduce pollution. The plaintiffs argue that industrial facilities should cut their actual emissions, rather than trade rights to pollute…”All the evidence showed that cap-and-trade programs have failed environmental justice communities,” said Alegria de la Cruz, an attorney with the Center on Race, Poverty & The Environment, who is representing the plaintiffs. Ms. De la Cruz said the Air Resources Board must “do some deep thinking on alternatives to the cap-and-trade system.”…The status of the cap-and-trade program, which is part of a plan to lower greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels within a decade, was thrown into doubt after Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith agreed with the plaintiffs in a Jan. 27 ruling. He said the Air Resources Board, which is tasked with lowering air pollution, hadn’t conducted an adequate environmental review before it approved the plan…Judge Goldsmith is scheduled to issue a final ruling in the next few weeks.

He shot the cap and tax bill, maybe he will shoot Employment Prevention Agency regulation on GHG’s The Hill (3/3/11) reports: Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a vocal critic of the Environmental Protection Agency, has signed on as a co-sponsor of Republican legislation to permanently block the agency’s climate rules…The addition of Manchin, who is up for reelection in 2012, as a co-sponsor means that the authors of the bill have been able to get at least some Democratic support in both the House and the Senate. Forty-three Senate Republicans sponsored the bill..The Hill reported earlier Thursday that three House Democrats signed on to the legislation. Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the ranking member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, have are both original co-sponsors. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) also signed on to the legislation…House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the panel’s energy subcommittee, authored the House version of the bill, while Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the Senate version of the legislation…The bill has a good chance of passing the House, but will face major hurdles in the Senate.

Sing along! 10,000 Volts on the lot, 10,000 Volts. Take one down, drive it around, 9,999 Volts on the lot Auto Blog (3/2/11) reports: Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you ‘ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company’s detailed data (PDF), but it certainly isn’t something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it’s lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January…Nissan doesn’t have anything to brag about here, either (and it didn’t avoiding any mention of the Leaf sales in its press release). Why? Well, back in January, the company sold 87 Leafs. In February? Just 67. Where does that leave us? Well, here’s the big scorecard for all sales of these vehicles thus far:

* Volt: 928     * Leaf: 173

Ouch. The big questions, of course, revolve around one word: “Why?” Is ramping up production and deliveries still a problem? Is demand weak? Are unscrupulous dealers to blame? When will sales start to climb? And what are these numbers doing to plug-in vehicle work at other automakers? We don’t know all the answers, but for more on February auto sales, click here.

It’s the gas prices, stupid. Obama Administration realizes they can peddle green energy if fossil fuels are expensive and volatile Associated Press (3/2/11) reports: Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a potential presidential contender, accused the Obama administration Wednesday of favoring a run-up in gas prices to prod consumers to buy more fuel-efficient cars…But the recent rise in gasoline prices has been primarily driven by unrest in the Middle East, particularly Libya, where protests have diminished crude oil production…Barbour cited 2008 comments from Steven Chu, now President Barack Obama’s energy secretary, that a gradual increase in gasoline taxes could coax consumers into dumping their gas-guzzlers and finding homes closer to where they work. Chu, then a Nobel Prize-winning professor, argued that higher costs per gallon could force investments in alternative fuels and spur cleaner energy sources…”This administration’s policies have been designed to drive up the cost of energy in the name of reducing pollution, in the name of making very expensive alternative fuels more economically competitive,” Barbour said during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce breakfast across the street from the White House.

Kenny “No Permits” Salazar says he needs more money if Congress wants more drilling; And next week on The Sopranos, Paulie Walnuts not so subtly reminds Phil Leotardo that his crew is late on their interest payments. The Hill (3/2/11) reports: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday that accelerating the pace of offshore oil drilling permit approvals will be heavily dependent on receiving more funding…The department is asking Congress for a major cash infusion for offshore oil-and-gas oversight, in part to substantially increase the staff for reviewing permits at a time when Interior is requiring drillers to meet toughened safety standards…Asked by a reporter when the pace of permitting might return to levels seen before the blowout of BP’s Macondo well last year, Salazar replied: “So much of it depends on this budget. If we can’t get the horsepower to be able to process permits under what now is a greater degree of scrutiny, we may never return to the pre-Macondo rate of permitting.”…He spoke to reporters after testifying before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Interior is under heavy political pressure from Republicans and some Democrats to speed up permitting for both deepwater and shallow-water projects.

Speaking our language: Senator Inhofe wants to cut green tape and put Americans back to work. Unlike most U.S. Senators, we know he means it. Fuel Fix (3/2/11) reports: Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said Wednesday that regulating greenhouse gas emissions should not be an EPA priority…“If we want to make strides in improving public health, we won’t do it by regulating carbon dioxide,” Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said in a prepared statement during a Senate hearing on President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget for the agency. “It’s not a real pollutant—despite what EPA says.”…Instead, he said, more attention should be aimed toward regulating “real pollution,” such as sulfur dioxide and particulate matter…The EPA’s GHG regulation is a “carbon regime” that needs to be eliminated, Inhofe said…Earlier this week, the senator released the Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, legislation that would permanently block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. Inhofe and the co-author of the bill, House Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., said they have been working with moderate Democrats in recent weeks to win some bipartisan support…Arguing in favor of the EPA, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., defended the federal agency’s decision to set emission limits on the greenhouse gases blamed by many scientists for global warming. EPA “can act to protect to public from all pollution—including pollution related to climate change,” she contended.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat—Rep. Peterson signs on with Rep. Whitfield’s REINS Act and EPA’s Alaska Freeze convinces Senator Murkowski to finally put the bit in the runaway horse’s mouth. Politico (3/2/11) reports: House Republicans can claim “bipartisanship” in their bid to handcuff the EPA’s climate change rules…Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) told POLITICO on Wednesday that he will be co-sponsoring the legislation from House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) that puts a freeze on EPA’s regulatory agenda for major industrial polluters like power plants and petroleum refiners…”The EPA needs to be reined in,” said Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee and a frequent critic of the agency…Upton and Whitfield, the chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, have been offering small changes to their bill in their courtship of moderate and conservative Democrats like Peterson. Support from House Democrats, they hope, will put pressure on Senate Democrats and the Obama White House to accept their legislation…”We want to get as many as we can, and we have reason to believe we’ll have a number of Democrats,” Whitfield told reporters…House GOP aides were still trying to put a full list together of House Democratic co-sponsors as of late Wednesday and couldn’t confirm additional names. But the field of potential Democrats numbers around 13, considering the list of lawmakers who crossed the aisle during last month’s floor vote on anti-EPA language attached to the fiscal 2011 spending bill.

Chu wants to grow green energy demand and plans on using your tax dollars as fertilizer CNET (3/1/11) reports: Energy Secretary Steven Chu is drawing on U.S. history in research and development to advocate for policies to encourage clean energy technology innovation for the future…Chu gave the keynote speech at the ARPA-E Summit here today, saying once again that the U.S. is in a race with China, the European Union, and other countries to create energy products expected to grow in demand…He started out by showing a graph of the rise and fall of oil prices over time, saying that people cannot accurately say where oil prices be in a few years time. Oil recently rose past $100 a barrel, and the U.S. spends about $1 billion a day importing oil…”What do we do? Do we hope for the best and plan for an economy at $40 a barrel?” he said. “I suggest taking a longer-term, more measured approach to the problem.”… Beyond the question of volatile fossil fuel prices, Chu argued that there is big spike in demand for accessible clean energy around the world. “Our strategy should not be hoping for the best…Let’s plan for where the world is going to be,” he said.

He’s back! Arnold Schwarzenegger said he popularized body building and will do the same for green energy — can’t wait for the green version of “Terminator” MSNBC (3/1/11) reports: Using analogies to leverage every aspect of his history, Schwarzenegger made the case that transitioning to a green economy, fixing the environment and ending political stalemate over carbon legislation fell well within the power of today ‘s technology and today’s political climate…“We want a new era of energy independence, a new era of green technology and green jobs, a new era of better health from a cleaner environment and a new era of American inventiveness,” Schwarzenegger said…The former governor and action-film superstar compared the current debate over climate change to the state of bodybuilding when he entered that sport in the late 1960s. A pervasive fear of weightlifting’s effects led celebrities to disavow their own exercise routines, and produced euphemisms when discussing the activity. However, scientific evidence eventually came to support the health benefits of weightlifting, and today talk about abs and pecs is common. Confident in having brought weightlifting to the mainstream, Schwarzenegger told the audience he hopes to do the same for climate science.

This proves numbers don’t matter in Congress — EPA claims they will save $2 trillion and prevent 160,000 deaths New York Times (3/1/11) reports: A two-decade-old crackdown on smog and soot under the Clean Air Act will yield about $2 trillion in annual benefits by 2020, according to a study (pdf) that was released by U.S. EPA this morning and was touted as proof that the embattled agency’s rules are an economic boon for the American people…Those rules prevented an estimated 160,000 deaths last year, according to the analysis, and within a decade, that number is projected to rise to about 230,000. That year, the new pollution controls will prevent an estimated 200,000 cases of heart disease, 2.4 million asthma flare-ups and 22.4 million missed school and work days…The study was ordered by the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, which were signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. Most of the stricter limits on smog and soot also date back to those amendments, which passed with support from both parties…In a statement today, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the benefits of those rules are a testament to “the power of bipartisan approaches to protecting the health of the American people.”

Here’s a business idea that works in Europe — have your government force businesses to purchase a permit from your company to emit carbon Reuters (3/1/11) reports: Carbon trading firms remain optimistic about a European market, after a 50 million euros cyberattack, but have given up hope on a U.S. cap and trade scheme, they told an industry conference on Tuesday…Perhaps indicative of the problems facing carbon markets, attendance was well down on previous years at the Point Carbon conference, at nearly 800, compared with 1,700 in 2008…The reputation of carbon markets has faced headwinds following the hacking in January of electronic emissions permits from a European scheme, the hub of global trade, as well as dimming expectations of a federal U.S. market…In addition, hopes are fading that the world will agree on an extension after 2012 to the Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding emissions targets for industrialized nations and so drives demand for international carbon offsets.

Coin Toss: heads you get a permit and sued by greenies, tails you don’t get a permit and go bankrupt Wall Street Journal (3/1/11) reports: More than two months after the Obama administration lifted its ban on drilling in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, oil companies are still waiting for approval to drill the first new oil well there. Experts now expect the wait to continue until the second half of 2011, and perhaps into 2012… The administration says it is simply trying to enforce new safety rules adopted in the wake of the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, which killed 11 workers and set off the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Environmental groups say the administration is right to take its time because the Gulf disaster exposed the risks of offshore drilling…But the delay is hurting big oil companies such as Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which have billions of dollars in investments tied up in Gulf projects that are on hold and are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a day for rigs that aren’t allowed to drill. Smaller operators such as ATP Oil & Gas Corp., which have less flexibility to focus on projects in other regions, have been even harder hit… The impact of the delays goes beyond the oil industry. The Gulf coast economy has been hit hard by the slowdown in drilling activity, especially because the oil spill also hurt the region’s fishing and tourism industries. The Obama administration in September estimated that 8,000 to 12,000 workers could lose their jobs temporarily as a result of the moratorium; some independent estimates have been much higher.

Ironic: China and the rest of the world is using our coal to win the future Wall Street Journal (3/1/11) reports: U.S. coal producer Peabody Energy (BTU) said Monday that it has signed a deal with SSA Marine to export coal from the Power River Basin from a proposed export terminal in Washington state…The companies agreed to ship up to 24 million metric tons of coal a year through the proposed terminal, called Gateway Pacific, near Bellingham, Wash. just south of the U.S.-Canadian border…The terminal would serve as the U.S. West Coast hub for exporting Peabody’s coal from Wyoming to China, South Korea, Japan, India and other Asian countries, the company said…Coal from Wyoming and Montana, which traditionally stays within U.S. borders, is now profitable to export, thanks to rapidly industrializing nations such as China, where coal is the most common power-plant fuel…”We ‘re opening the door to a new era of U.S. exports from the nation’s largest and most productive coal region to the world’s best market for coal,” Peabody Chairman and Chief Executive Gregory Boyce said in a statement…The company said demand for seaborne coal demand is expected to top 1 billion metric tons this year, amid fast-growing demand in Asia…Peabody said the coal export terminal could be operational “within several years.” The company plans to ship coal produced from the Powder River Basin to the terminal via the Burlington Northen Santa Fe Railway, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA)

Continued From Above: The one permit in the Gulf should off-set the loss in production in Alaska and besides, we can always import oil from OPEC Fuel Flex (2/28/11) reports: ConocoPhillips and BP PLC, two of the major oil and gas players in Alaska, say they expect their capital investment in the state to be flat this year…ConocoPhillips has at its disposal $900 million, or $170 million more than it spent in 2010. But spokeswoman Natalie Lowman told The Associated Press on Monday that spending the full amount is contingent upon several factors, including what it considers to be a more favorable tax structure in the state…The company also would need to receive the permits necessary to proceed with a project that would connect a drill pad in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to company facilities in the Alpine field. And, she said, ConocoPhillips itself would again have to sanction that project, which has been on the drawing board for years…Considering all this, she said ConocoPhillips expects spending will be relatively flat.

Senator Hatch has found his free market roots just in time to guard against a challenge from his right in the primary The Hill (2/28/11) reports: A prominent Republican senator said on Monday that the United States had gone “too far into the radical environmentalist camp” after unrest in the Middle East that contributed to a rise in oil prices…Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters after a speech that energy development helped spark economic growth, and that he hoped people had begun to realize that the United States has plenty of natural resources…“We’ve got to wake up in this country,” Hatch said, raising the specter of $5-per-gallon gas prices. “We can’t run the country without energy. And yet the radical environmentalists are shutting the country down.”…Hatch also said that he was having trouble getting Democrats to join with him on cultivating natural gas, one of his pet issues, and also dubbed America “the Saudi Arabia of coal.”…Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this week, where he is expected to be asked by Republicans about current restrictions on offshore oil drilling.

Why is GM worried about gas prices? I thought the Volt was an EV, but more importantly, the way forward for the car industry Wall Street Journal (3/1/11) reports: General Motors Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said the U.S. auto industry isn’t yet prepared to respond to a major surge in gas prices, though car makers are in a better position than when prices spiked in 2008…”I don’t think the industry learned a lot of lessons from 2008—they will this time around,” Mr. Akerson said Tuesday on the sidelines of the Geneva motor show. “It would not be a good thing to see $5-a-gallon gas right now.”…GM, he said, is “not in perfect shape, but we are in better shape.”…U.S. auto sales sank to historic lows after fuel prices spiked in 2008 to close to $4 a gallon, the situation worsened by the collapse of the U.S. housing market and financial system. GM and its Detroit-based rivals were hit harder than foreign car manufacturers because of their dependence on large trucks and SUVs, which fell out of favor…Mr. Akerson said he believes the latest increase is “eposidic,” caused by turmoil in Libya. But he said a more gradual, continuous increase in fuel prices is inevitable.

What’s $300 million among friends? New CA initiative will pay folks to ‘green’ their houses Mercury News (2/28/11) reports: A new statewide program launching Tuesday will give homeowners rebates worth up to $4,000 if they make significant energy-efficient improvements to their houses…The $300 million program, called “Energy Upgrade California,” was developed by the California Energy Commission, local governments, utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission and contractors who specialize in home energy audits, upgrades and retrofits. The goal of the program, which has been in the works for over a year, is threefold: reduce household energy use, save consumers money on utility bills and create jobs in the state’s “building performance” industry. Funding for the program comes from several sources, including federal stimulus dollars and surcharges that consumers already pay on their utility bills…Consumers who want to make their homes more energy efficient — whether by adding insulation to the attic or purchasing a new hot water heater — are often at a loss as to where to begin, or what project to tackle first. It’s hard to keep up with an ever-changing menu of federal tax credits. And rebates often vary based on who your utility company is…Energy Upgrade California hopes to streamline the process, so there’s one-stop shopping for consumers from San Jose to San Diego.

Lots of numbers in this article and all they add up to bad news for wind and solar — natural gas is cheap and there’s plenty of it in the U.S. Fuel Flex (2/28/11) reports: U.S. natural gas production rose for a fifth consecutive month in December as output from wells in Alaska and Louisiana increased, the Energy Department reported…Gas production climbed 1.1 percent to 76.97 billion cubic feet a day from a revised 76.13 billion in November, the department’s Energy Information Administration said in a monthly report known as EIA-914…Output in the lower 48 states rose for a second month, increasing 0.2 percent to 66.76 billion cubic feet a day from a revised 66.60 billion. Production from Alaska increased 7.1 percent to 10.21 billion cubic feet a day from 9.53 billion, the government said in the report…Production in Louisiana gained 2.7 percent to 7.2 billion cubic feet a day from a revised 7.01 billion as drilling in the Haynesville Shale gas formation increased, according to the report. Output from the offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico gained 2.3 percent to 5.85 billion from 5.72 billion as production resumed after platform maintenance and repairs, the government said…Natural gas for April delivery rose 7.1 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $4.076 per million British thermal units at 12:21 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have dropped 7.8 percent this month and are down 15 percent from a year ago.

While the world calls out for more affordable and reliable energy, the Bureau of Land Management discovers the perfect location for a solar farm BLM (2/28/11) reports: A draft plan on the solar potential of federal land identifies three Arizona sites encompassing nearly 14,000 acres as highly suitable for energy development…The plan, which covers six western states, is designed to ensure that renewable energy is developed in a smart and efficient way, said Eddie Arreola, supervisory renewable energy project manager for the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona…“The whole intent of the plan is to develop strategies to promote solar energy development in the state,” Arreola said. “We also want to find the best way to manage that renewable energy responsibly.”…The three proposed Solar Energy Zones are located on BLM land in western Arizona. One is roughly 25 miles southwest of Buckeye, another around 25 miles northwest of Wickenburg and another along U.S. 60 about 10 miles west of Vicksburg…Those zones were deemed most suitable when considering all possible drawbacks, including wildlife habitat, water usage, air quality, soil quality and tribal concerns, said Lane Cowger, a BLM renewable energy project manager in Arizona.